How Kevin Byard really feels about that Titans trade – and the Super Bowl he's chasing | Estes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kevin Byard used to stand beside Mike Vrabel during the national anthem. Every Tennessee Titans game, right at midfield. It's the kind of thing a team captain does.

That team captain had been hearing rumors. But about a month ago, when it actually happened, when Byard was traded by the Tennessee Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles, he heard it from Vrabel.

“They needed draft picks and things like that,” Byard said. “And he actually told me, ‘Hey, the Eagles have got a great team over there. Go win you a Super Bowl.’”

And so that’s the plan.

With his family back in Nashville and the former Titans safety still getting settled in Philadelphia, Byard’s new team keeps collecting wins. Monday night’s rainy 21-17 comeback victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium was the biggest yet this season.

The Eagles (9-1) shut out the Chiefs (7-3) in the second half to win a game in which they were outgained by nearly 100 yards. To help make that possible, Byard did some Byard things that’d be familiar to Titans fans. He directed teammates before snaps. He intercepted Patrick Mahomes in the end zone. On a third down in the red zone, he tackled Kadarius Toney a yard short. The Chiefs got that first down, but on the play after that, Travis Kelce coughed up a key fumble.

Speaking of Kelce, a game like this was why the Eagles traded for Byard. “The gameplan,” he said, “was for me to be on Kelce in all man-to-man situations.”

Kelce caught seven passes, but they were for only 44 yards. It was a relatively quiet night for the Chiefs’ star – and for the Chiefs’ offense in general. Byard finished with a game-high eight tackles and two passes defended.

“Been 3-0 since we've been here, man. Maybe I'm a good luck charm or something,” Byard said with a smile.

I'd tell you to brace yourself, Titans fans, but you already know how bittersweet it'll be to watch Byard lead the Eagles on a playoff run. A.J. Brown was one thing, but Byard will be another. Few players mean more to an organization than he did for the Titans, given that he starred at Middle Tennessee State, featured so prominently in the community and was a fixture and most prominent team leader for the Titans over an eight-year period.

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Banners outside Nissan Stadium and in downtown Nashville have continued to feature Byard after his departure. It’s almost like the Titans are reluctant to take them down.

A team doesn't just replace that guy. The slumping Titans sure haven't.

But the buildup to the end, as tends to happen in this league, wasn’t pleasant. The Titans asked Byard this past offseason to take a pay cut, and he declined. Then after six games, he was dealt in a move that looked a lot like his old franchise waving a white flag on the 2023 season.

Byard, as ever, was classy in discussing the breakup.

“Hard feelings? To be honest with you, not really,” Byard said. “I have a lot of respect for Vrabel. … In this business, I just think as a veteran, where I am now, it's really hard to have my emotions so entangled with it.”

If he was going to be traded anywhere after this season’s first six games, the Eagles were indeed a comfortable landing spot. Byard went from one of the NFL’s worst teams, record-wise, to the best. And yet, it’s a new locker room with a familiar Titans feel to it.

A few lockers down from Byard in Kansas City was ex-Titans linebacker Zach Cunningham. On the other side of a partition, on offense, was star receiver Brown, of course, but also Julio Jones and the Eagles’ backup quarterback, Marcus Mariota.

“Super excited to just have him be a part of this,” Mariota said of Byard. “Just as a person, he's just a great guy. What he brings to the locker room, obviously from a football standpoint, but from like a leadership standpoint, I think, is truly a bonus for us. … For him just to come in and kind of fill that void for us, I think guys just respect that and really look to him for any sort of advice.”

It hasn't been easy, though. A midseason trade isn’t easy for any player. Hasn’t been for Byard, either. “It’s definitely been an adjustment,” he said.

The Eagles are coming off a bye week. That allowed Byard to return to Nashville to see family, and they’ll be headed to Philly to see him during Thanksgiving week.

Everyone misses everyone, I'd imagine. Didn't see a move like this coming in the middle of the season.

The Titans, too, miss Byard on the field. Perhaps even more, they miss him off it. He’s leading in Philly, especially with younger defensive backs. But it’s different. He had to be the new guy again.

“Just earning their respect,” Byard said. “Earning their respect every single day by the way I go about my business, the way I practice, the way we meet. ... This team has a great culture, has great leadership already."

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On Monday night, it was strange to see him in green, slapping hands with Eagles fans in the tunnel, greeting general manager Howie Roseman as he entered a jubilant locker room.

There are still moments. After the game, Byard posed on the field for a photo with two players: Eagles safety Reed Blankenship and Chiefs linebacker Darius Harris. All three went to MTSU.

And in speaking with local reporters, Byard referenced past regular-season success against the Chiefs, “but obviously, they beat me in the playoffs.”

I wasn’t sure if they realized he was referring to an AFC title game. Mariota and Brown, they'd know. They were there. Me, too.

Same locker room. Some of the same faces.

Much different vibe.

“I will always be a Tennessee Titan no matter what,” Byard said. “But at the end of the day, it's a business. I'm happy to be here. God works in mysterious ways. I'm just going to keep going.”

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Kevin Byard really feels about Titans trade, Eagles Super Bowl hopes